Playing Pretend
by The More Loving One
Summary: Toan plays a game with Paige and finds out just how confusing girls are.


"Now Toan, remember before you leave to put your poncho on. It's cold out, even if you're by the fire." Renee knelt so her head was equal to Toan's, adjusting his beret. He studied her soft features, her wide brown eyes that somehow managed to be expressive and private all at the same time, and her lips that kissed him every night before bed. Slowly, he rose his bare hand up to rest on her cheek. She smiled, staying still for a moment or two before grabbing his gloves. He put them on, offering her a smile. She noticed that he had some fingers lumped together and helped him, chuckling. She took a minute to think about Aga, before shaking her head. She stood up straight.

"It's going to be different this year while your father's away. But I bet he'll have a gift for every festival he missed when he comes back. Do you have Paige's gift?" she asked, arching her eyebrow. Toan giggled. It was a silly face to him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a haphazardly wrapped present. She kissed his forehead. "Good boy. Tell Paige I said hello. And don't forget to dance with her, I know you wormed your way out of it last year." He blushed, giving her a hug.

"I can't reach the hook," he whispered. Renee laughed, pulling the poncho off the hook and draping it over his shoulders. He hugged her again, before bounding out the door. Renee heard the festival music, and wiped a single tear away as her seven year old son went out to play happily, even though his father was gone. She knew they'd raised a strong, brave child.

"Toan! There you are! I've been waiting!" Toan didn't have time to look before an energetic blur of dark hair and white cloth obscured his vision. He could smell soap, lots of it, and he knew it was Paige. She always used triple the amount of soap to get rid of the fishy smell of her house and her dad's most recent catches. He wrapped his arms around her tightly. The two hugged until Macho came by and tapped Toan on the shoulder.

"Give me credit for teaching you the moves when you get married, little dude," he said, laughing. Paige and Toan blushed profusely, the former stuttering out protests and the latter with a sweatdrop. Macho walked away, still laughing under his breath. Paige watched him go, her blush never subsiding, then pulled a package out of her pocket.

"I got you your gift," she mumbled. He took it, giving her one of his packages as well. Toan ripped the paper off hastily, revealing a soft white handkerchief cradling a soft, sturdy leather sheath. In sloppy red thread on the side was her name. He smiled, putting the handkerchief in his pocket and attaching the hilt to his belt. Paige looked at her own gift, a llama wool pair of mittens and scarf. She beamed.

"Did you make these yourself?" she asked. Toan nodded, blushing. She hugged him tightly. "Thank you so much!" When she let him go, they both looked over at the fire. "Toan?"

"?"

"Wanna go change the seasons?" Paige asked, fiddling with a piece of hair nervously. Toan nodded, and she grabbed his hand pulling him over to the autumn wildflowers. She knew the old Hag would probably get mad for using possible ingredients, but she didn't care. She picked almost all of them and started fashioning them into crowns. Toan watched as her soft hands worked quickly and quietly, hair shining under the moonlight. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration and he thought to himself how pretty she always looked. It wasn't an observation really. He'd always known Paige was pretty. To him, it was just part of who she was. But it felt different this time. He didn't know why.

Paige put one of the crowns on his head. "Okay, you'll be the spring and summer fairy, and I'll be fall and winter." Toan nodded affirmatively.

Paige's dress turned silver and her crown turned into ice. A pair of sparkly wings grew out of her back and she turned to fly across the village, ice and snow spreading in her wake. Toan waited, his own wings beating impatiently. He shivered. Once the cold had spread fully, he flew after her, flowers and grass springing up under his feet. They were in their own world now. Everything was beautiful, and there was no one else. Suddenly she screamed out his name, and he saw her being attacked by a smog dragon. Toan drew his sword, charging at the foul, grey beast. Before he got there, the dragon blew some smoke into Paige's face, rendering her unconscious. With a grunt, Toan launched up, slashing the dragon's belly, but the scales were too thick. Slowly, Paige fell to Earth, and he raised a patch of soft, green grass where she would land. Then he turned back to the beast.

"Little savage," the dragon cried. "Why do you deny the ways of the future?" Tempting images made of steam surrounded Toan, and his wings beat a little faster. He shook his head emphatically, searching for the chink in every dragon's armor. The filthy, acrid smoke stung his eyes and throat. Narrowing his eyes, he found it. The single, jagged area where one of the scales was weakened. Toan thrust his sword forward, only to be blocked by one of the beast's mighty claws.

Paige had fallen into a deep, deep slumber... Toan saw this and let out a high pitched melody, his sword glowing brightly. His eyes watered, stinging, and with the call of spring and summer sunlight, he thrust the sword into the line between the dragon's scales. The fake technology the dragon had tried to lure him with vanished, and the world's natural beauty was replaced.

"!" He ran to Paige's side, kneeling next to her. Patterns of firelight danced on her skin, her simple frock mussed where she had fallen. Her hair fanned out around her head, and her face was peaceful. Awkwardly, Toan stared at her, head tilted and blushing. Finally, he leaned down towards her, eyes level with hers. Slowly, he clasped her hands, then suddenly held them above her head, tickling her sides with a feather he'd found earlier. He giggled, barely noticing that his hand was tickling a lot faster than normal. Paige's eyes flashed open, and she laughed, her breath quickly turning into shallow pants. The world that they had created around them slowly vanished, turning back into Norune village. The adults by the fire watched, chuckling to themselves at the two youngsters.

"T-Toan, s-stop!" Paige cried. Toan smirked devilishly, letting her go. She sat up, beaming, her eyes light with happiness. Suddenly, her gaze turned dark.

"Toan, you ruined the story! You were supposed to kiss me! Your magic brings me back to life so we can continue changing the seasons!" Paige hissed. Toan blushed, nervously sweatdropping with a shrug.

"I thought you liked playing pretend! If this is how you're gonna be I just won't play with you anymore," Paige said. She stood up, and the leftover fun from their fairy world was long forgotten.

"?!" Toan exclaimed, confused. He leapt to his feet, grabbing her arm. She glared at him, sniffling. With a sigh, he pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly. She struggled for a moment, but then relaxed into into his arms. She looked up at him with a smile, his alleged misdeed already forgotten.

"Let's go play Cave Monster!" she exclaimed, running off and leaving a confused little boy behind.


End file.
